Meet our graduates: Rebecca Joiner – a happy accident inspires a passion for economic policy
Rebecca Joiner’s passion for economics was the result of a happy accident. As a high school student growing up in Melbourne, her sister advised her to choose economics to fill a space in her elective timetable.
It wasn't her pick, but to her surprise, economics soon had Bec in its thrall.
She discovered that she “loved how economics seeks to explain the world we live in and how we relate to each other, and how it can be applied to improve so many different aspects of our lives and communities”.
She then went on to study a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) and Law at Monash University.
An internship at the Grattan Institute further deepened her commitment to public policy and confirmed for her “the importance of evidence-based policy in improving economic, health, and education outcomes”.
Upon graduating, she joined the Treasury.
“I am particularly passionate about maximising the impact economic policy can have in reducing inequality and creating opportunities for people”, Bec explains, “so that they can achieve their full potential and live happy lives regardless of what they have been given in the lottery of birth and postcode”.
The applied focus of the Master of International and Development Economics program at ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy aligned perfectly with her passion for economics with real-world implications.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given her past familiarity, the topic that most piqued Bec’s interest while at the Crawford School was the use of evaluations in evidence-based policymaking.
Rigorous evaluation methods such as randomised control trials have been used in public health to monitor the effectiveness of interventions for some time, she notes.
“But their more widespread use in other areas of public policy is much more recent”, she adds.
“Embedding rigorous evaluations in the policy decision-making process is incredibly important for knowing whether policy is actually improving outcomes and people’s lives and detecting unwanted consequences”, she observes.
Thanks to her Master of International and Development Economics degree, she is now equipped with the economic analysis expertise needed to support evidence-based evaluations in policymaking.
Her ANU degree has “enabled me to develop skills that make me a better public policy analyst”, Bec says.
Her learning at the Crawford School was enriched by the diversified cohort of students, as she explains: “one of the best things about the Master of International and Development Economics is that it attracts students from all over the world”.
Her teachers at Crawford also left a lasting impact. “I learnt a lot from the teachers and the many guest lecturers who in particular had immense experience across the Asia-Pacific region”, she adds.
Connections Bec created with fellow students at the Crawford School have flourished beyond ANU, she says.
“In 2024, I moved to Jakarta to work for the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Economic Development (Prospera)”, she explains.
The strong Crawford School and wider ANU alumni community in Indonesia has provided a supportive network that has enhanced her professional development.
For prospective students considering studying at the Crawford School, Bec says the Master of International and Development Economics degree is great “for anyone passionate about economic policy and using it to improve outcomes for people globally”.
Looking to the future, Bec plans to continue working in economic policy and leveraging her new knowledge.
“I’m passionate about continuing to work in economic policy and applying the skills I learnt from my Master of International and Development Economics degree in my role working in Indonesia—and when I return to Australia”, she says.
She also looks forward to exploring and travelling in Indonesia, and learning more about its culture, history, and people.
Bec’s story is an inspiration to anyone looking to make a difference by studying at the Crawford School.
As she puts it, “The more we can create opportunities to learn from each other across many different aspects of our society, the better off we’ll be at tackling both local and global policy issues.”.